Prison Break 4

As Prison Break returns for a fourth season, we ask Wentworth Miller how his character Michael Scofield

By
Jeremy Lawrence
26 January 2009

What can you tell us about the new season?It’s time now for the boys to stop running and stand up and fight. So what happens is we have a kind of dirty dozen, a team thing, where a lot of your favourite characters – the good ones and the bad ones – team up to take on the conspiracy, the organisation that ruined everyone’s lives in the first place.

How do the writers keep coming up with fresh ideas?I think that’s the cool thing about our writers – they include these plot twists so there’s always something fresh, interesting and unexpected. Then it’s our job as the actors to create the most believable and compelling characters possible, so you as the viewer care when one of us goes out of the show.

And Sarah is back?Yes, Dr Sara is back. We killed her off in season three and put her head in a box. Now she’s back from the dead – it’s her, not her evil twin, which means my character is finally going to get some after 60 episodes!

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Why did they bring her back?The fans were so outraged because they had invested so many episodes in these characters and the slowly building relationship. And I think Dr Sara added something really special to the show.

Does the extent to which Lincoln and Michael are willing to help each other really come down to brotherly love?I think that’s one of the show’s strongest hooks. We have the car crashes and gun fights, but at the end of the day it is a show about families. I think that’s the secret of our success, and it translates so well overseas, because it’s something anyone anywhere can tap into.

Does it amaze you that people are willing to stick with the show for four years – especially when it is sometimes hard to play catch up if you’ve missed part of a season?Yes, it’s tremendously gratifying and it’s a testament to not only the audience out there but to the quality of the shows that you are seeing out there. Shows like The Sopranos, 24 and Prison Break all require some level of commitment and that gives you a pay off – but only after a certain number of episodes or seasons.

Were you always keen to do a fourth season?Had you asked me midway through season three, I don’t think I would have wanted a fourth season of the show. But the last few episodes of the season were so good that they’ve actually got me hooked again.

Will things ever get back to the way they were before your character entered prison?I don’t think he’ll ever be totally clean. I don’t think there’s such a thing as going back to the way things used to be – though I think he might try. That might make for some interesting drama – perhaps somewhere in the middle of season four – but I imagine that he will find that easier said than done.

Prison Break season four is now showing on Showseries every Sunday at 9pm

Story so far

Prison Break prodigy Michael Scofield gets himself thrown into jail to break out his sentenced-to-death brother, Lincoln Burrows, who was framed for the murder of the vice-president’s brother. Faced with more hurdles than an Olympic athlete could handle, they eventually succeed, although five other cons escape with them. Meanwhile, friends on the outside are unravelling the conspiracy behind the framing of Linc, which goes right to the top. With official types trying to protect their names, everyone involved is at risk. The escapees begin to drop like flies, leaving one bad con, one good con and the two brothers. They all end up in Panama, and Scofield back in prison (he’s as good at getting in jail as getting out). With a love story, hostages and traitors galore It’s complicated but compelling stuff, so if you’re new to the series we suggest you buy the box set.